I am planning to make pie Real Soon Now. As in I have apples, I have unsalted butter if that’s what it takes, etc.
I have never made crust. At least, not since I was a kid, with maternal assistance.
Any recommendations, be it by way or recipes or tips? Mainly I am thinking of traditional pastry crust, though I will want to do a crust more suited to pudding pies or cheesecakes at some point, too.
Check Martha Stewart’s website. Or Ina Garten. Both do their crusts in the food processor. My mother does it that way and it’s a winner everytime.
The key is to have all of the ingredients be cold and I mean COLD. Put ice in the water. Keep your butter cold. Even measure out the dry ingredients and put them in the frig as well as your bowl.
Keep the dough cold when you’re working it into the pie plate. If it starts to get too warm pop the thing in the frig. Also while your oven is warming, put the pie plate in the frig to keep it cold until time for baking.
If doing a one crust pie and you pre-bake, make sure the bottom is weighted down. Prick with a fork like normal than place some parchment paper over the bottom and some dried beads. I use dried peas and have used the same batch for years.
Good luck – there’s nothing like the perfect crust to make a pie wonderful.